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Is my equine happy?

Is my equine happy

Is my equine happy?

As we don’t know what it is like for another person to be
happy let alone and equine it is very difficult to assess if our equine is
“happy”. This is further a problem because happiness is an emotional state and
that is a matter of perception. If you think the natural behaviour for equines
is to be stressy, nervous, highly strungcreatures that can take the mickey and get excited at the slightest
opportunity then your perception of a happy horse will be different from that
of someone who believes their natural state to be calm, relaxed animals,
interested in their surroundings, but adaptable and willing when given the
chance to be.

Rather than ask is my equine happy it is perhaps easier to
start with the question is my equine unhappy and eliminate that question first.
Perhaps it is also easier to quantify, unwanted, anxious, nervous or stressed
behaviour rather than unhappy ones in order to avoid our personal desires for
the happiness of our own animals.

First to ensure your equine is not unhappy eliminate is the
possibility of pain. Pain obviously shows in many ways but the two most obvious
are the subtle behaviour changes of shorter term acute pain. These are short
term changes to the animal’s behaviour, the threat to nip when you pick up the
front feet, the “ears back face” when you put the tack on, which weren’t there
previously and are not normal for your animal. Chronic pain tends to show up in
a change of character, the pervious lively well mannered animal that takes on
“Victor Meldrew” tendencies, which might develop over several months so the
changes are almost unperceivable.Are
there sudden unexplained changes in behaviour? Really bad days or sudden
unexplained behaviours that seem to come from nowhere and then disappear again,
these could be indications of pain.

After pain we need to know if our equine exhibits the normal
behaviour patterns of their species. Do they show abnormal or aberrant
behaviour, do they have behaviours that seem out of place, or behaviours that
seem normal but are repeated time and time again in rapid time. An itch is just
an itch and biting the itch is fine but when it becomes excessive it indicates
a problem such as self mutilation. Obviously, stereotypic behaviour falls into
this category, rapidly repeated behaviour that does not serve and obvious
function. These are normally coping mechanisms due to the domestic environmentand the individual coping abilities of
individual equines.

Then there are the more subtle behavioural signs that may
indicate your equine is suffering from conflict between choices or has raised
level of stress. These could include the kick or threat to kick when their feet
are picked out indicating they don’t want to kick you but don’t want their feet
picked out either, the animal that doesn’t want to be caught to come in from
the field, the animal that barges out of the stable door when it opens. The
face pull, when you put the rug on or the spooky and napping animal when trying
to get them to leave the yard. Do they show changes of behaviour in the field
with herd mates compared to when they are on their own or in their stable?
Despite being a social herd dwelling animal, in domestication the choice of
herd mates is often limited or forced upon them and the space available to
dwell in the herd is often too small and these factors can lead to conflict,
aggression and anxiety. As an example of this, domesticated horses show increased
levels of aggression compared to feral herds especially around food, even when
compared to the harshest time of year with little food is available in the
wild.

This leads us to ask how much is the animal able to fill
their normal species time budget? Equines in general have a species time budget
and then individual breeds may vary slightly due to selective breeding. If you
don’t meet their natural needs it will be harder for them to be happy. Does the
animal have access to a range of different high fibre feed throughout the day,
or limited quantities or cereal based foods and three slices of hay which are
gone within a hour, leaving 8 hours with nothing to eat? Are they able to move
and walk freely covering longer distances? In the wild they might cover 15- 20
miles a day looking for food. Small electric fenced paddocks might restrict
grazing which prevents obesity, which is good, but they don’t allow the animal
to move enough perhaps track systems may prove more stimulating and meet the
animal’s needs for movement, if they are stabled for long periods of time their
behaviour usually changes and it is hard work to keep up with their needs for
mental stimulation. Do they have social interaction if they choose, can they
touch, interact with and mutually groom other equines if they choose. Does
their environment provide them with enough mental stimulation logs to chew,
toys, different foods to search out? Do they have chance to rest and lie down
to during the night? An equine that sleeps for some of the night flat out
generally indicates there feel comfortable enough to lie out in such a
vulnerable position. Do they have chance for quality time relaxing with other
equines or you? Obviously all equines are individual so meeting their
individual requires also is a requirement of making them happy, the animal that
does not like being in with others will not be happy in a herd being on their
own may make they more comfortable. The key is to give them as many choices as
possibleand see which ones they choose
so they can fulfil their own needs as they change .

If you can work to eliminate as many as possible of the
unhappy signs then what you will be left with is the best opportunity for your
equine to be happy. For me that would mean an animal that was willing to work
with you and yet capable of expressing their own opinion. While a willing
animal may appear to indicate a happy one, are they willing out of cooperation
and trust or out of fear and avoidance. If the animal feels comfortable with
their human they will be able to challenge their decisions and show their own
concerns because they do not fear the consequences of behaviour. Many current
methods of training , require complete and utter compliance, and there is a
consequence for none compliance usually increased force, negative reinforcement
or punishment. Surely a equine that fears the consequences of his behaviour can
not be a happy animal, well not at least while they are around the trainer.
When you sit and watch the animal being trained do they look and feel happy, to
you feel happy watching them train or the video of you training them, if
training is pressured, with escalations of force or use of equipment that
prevents the animal from expressing their behaviour they can become inhibited
which again must surely lead to conflict, frustration and fear.

Perhaps it is a bit much to ask if our equine is out right
happy, because there will be differences in their emotional states, with
different people and in different locations at different times. Much like our
emotional states might change with tasks, locations and people, and we have the
power to choose our emotional responses if we want, I am not sure equines
do.Perhaps the question should be on
balance does our equine spend more time happy than not and are we constantly
striving to improve their environment, refine our training methods and soften
the equipment we use?

Perhaps the best test is to sit and watch them in their
normal environment for a minimum of one hour, five or six would be better. Then
video a session of you handling them, training them, grooming them and watch it
back. Then find a video clip of feral horses just hanging out watch that.
Finally sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and ask this question,” Is my
horse happy? “Don’t think, don’t try to reason, just sit and listen to the
answer you get back when you stop and listen deeply, only this way will you
know the real answer to your question.